Ronnie Lee Milsap was born on Ronald Lee Millsaps; January 16,1943 and is an American country music singer and pianist.
27 Facts About Ronnie Milsap
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Ronnie Milsap was one of country music's most popular and influential performers of the 1970s and 1980s.
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Ronnie Milsap is credited with six Grammy Awards and 35 number-one country hits, third to George Strait and Conway Twitty.
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Ronnie Milsap was selected for induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2014.
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In concert, Ronnie Milsap has often paid tribute to the musicians of the 1950s who inspired him including Ray Charles, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Presley.
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Ronnie Milsap was awarded a full college scholarship and briefly attended Young Harris College in Young Harris, Georgia, with plans to become a lawyer.
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Ronnie Milsap met Joyce Reeves one night at a dinner party during this period, and the two were married in 1965.
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In 1963, Ronnie Milsap met Atlanta disc jockey Pat Hughes who became an early supporter of his music career.
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Around this same time, Ronnie Milsap auditioned for a job as a keyboardist for musician JJ Cale.
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In 1965, Ronnie Milsap signed with New York-based Scepter Records, recording several obscure singles for the label over the next few years, and working briefly with other soul musicians like Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder.
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That same year, Ronnie Milsap made the lower reaches of the pop charts with the single "Loving You Is a Natural Thing".
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Ronnie Milsap recorded and released his debut album, Ronnie Milsap, on Warner Brothers in 1971.
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In December 1972, Ronnie Milsap relocated to Nashville after a chance meeting with country music star Charley Pride who was in the audience for a Ronnie Milsap gig at the nightclub Whiskey A-Go-Go on Sunset Blvd.
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Pride was impressed with Ronnie Milsap's singing and encouraged him to change course and focus on country music.
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Ronnie Milsap released his first single for RCA that year, "I Hate You", which became his first country music success, peaking at No 10 on the country chart.
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In 1974, Ronnie Milsap toured with Pride as an opening act and had two No 1 singles: "Pure Love" and the Kris Kristofferson composition "Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends" which won Ronnie Milsap his first Grammy.
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From 1976 to 1978, Ronnie Milsap became one of country music's biggest stars.
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Ronnie Milsap scored seven No 1 singles in a row, including the Grammy-winning " Stand by My Woman Man" and "What a Difference You've Made in My Life".
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Ronnie Milsap's sound shifted toward string-laden pop ballads during the late 1970s which resulted in crossover success on the pop charts beginning in the early 1980s.
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Ronnie Milsap had some success with "Ronnie Milsap Got You".
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In 1989, Ronnie Milsap had his last No 1 song with "A Woman in Love", although he still remained successful on the charts.
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Ronnie Milsap has remained one of country music's best-loved and most successful artists despite the lack of radio airplay since the mid-1990s.
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In 2000, Ronnie Milsap resurfaced with a two-CD set, 40 No 1 Hits, featuring a new single entitled "Time, Love, and Money".
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Ronnie Milsap has been featured by CMT's numerous shows, including 40 Greatest Men of Country Music and a 2005 episode of Crossroads with Tex-Mex rock group Los Lonely Boys.
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In 2006, Ronnie Milsap signed with his former company RCA and returned to a mainstream, contemporary country music style with the album My Life.
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In 2009, Ronnie Milsap released a two-CD set entitled Then Sings My Soul which featured 24 hymns and gospel songs, including "Up To Zion".
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On May 2,2013, Ronnie Milsap performed at the memorial service of country legend George Jones, singing the Jones classic "When the Grass Grows Over Me".